$1.$ Copy step$\_1.$py to step$\_2.$py to use as a starting point.

$2.$ Store the name of the text file in a variable.

$3.$ Use a try$/$except$/$else block to open the file.

$4.$ If a FileNotFoundError exception is thrown, display a message to the user indicating that the file could not be found and quit the program with the quit$()$ function. If this happens, it's either because the text file is not in the same folder as your program file or there's a spelling error in the file name.

$5.$ In the else block, which we only get to if we have successfully opened the file:

Read and discard the first line of the file using readline$().$ This is the column heading line and we don't need it$.$

In a for loop, read each line of the file and strip the trailing line break. Split the line using the split$()$ method and a tab as the delimiter, $"\backslash$t$".$

The split should return three fields, which are the values for the timestamp, the name and the comment.

Create a dictionary with keys of "date", "name" and "timestamp" and use the values provided by the strip$()$ call.

Append the dictionary to the records list.

$6.$ Test your program.

First choose Menu Selection $1.$ You should see each record from the file displayed.

Choose Menu Selection $2$ and add another entry.

Choose Menu Selection $1$ again and you should see the original records, along with the one you have added.

$7.$ Note that if you run the program again, none of the new records you entered via Menu Selection $2$ will show because we haven't updated the text file. That's part of the final step.

$8.$ If everything goes as planned, take a bow! Well done!